Sunday, 12 June 2016

Would you like to sign Brent councillors' and educationalists' joint letter opposing the goverment's forced academies policy?

Having appealed on Wembley Matters LINK for Brent Council to take a stand on the government's policy on forcing all schools to become academies I welcomed Cllr Jun Bo Chan's initiative in organising a letter to the Guardian on the issue and readily agreed to sign. The letter was published last week in the newspaper with, as is the custom, only the first signatories included. I publish the full list here so that readers can see which of their councillors supported the letter.

Since tihs article was published some people have indicated that they would have liked the opportunity to sign it. Please feel free to add your name/organisation as a comment.

We recognise, support and celebrate the hard work of
students, parents, teachers and educational professionals in all schools. We
therefore object to the government’s latest education for all bill, which aims
to force all state schools in England to become academies, even those that are
good or outstanding. The education secretary’s decision to back down last month
from the imposition of blanket academisation represented a victory for
campaigners from a wide array of organisations. Nevertheless, this was merely a
tactical retreat, and the government’s reaffirmation of “a system where all
schools are academies” highlights plainly their continued stubbornness and
zealousness. Although the headlines conveyed a ‘U-turn’ on forced
academisation, the education for all bill proposes that local authorities are
now coerced one at a time rather than all at once.

The government’s top-down plans, which are predicated upon
no clear evidence, are a blatant disregard for local autonomy. The undermining
of local government oversight of education, the demand that all new academies
be subsumed into multi-academy trusts, as well as the forcing of good and
outstanding schools to become academies, constitute a centralising tendency
which is wholly unnecessary, unpopular and uncalled for. The only certainty is
that such actions severely weaken the government’s ostensible localism,
continuing a troubling trend towards centralisation in the government’s overall
legislative programme.

Moreover, we are concerned that other government proposals
as outlined in its earlier educational excellence everywhere white paper, such
as the abolition of the national system for teachers’ pay and conditions, the
scrapping of the requirement for elected parent governors, and the removal of
qualified teacher status, will only impede the urgent business of improving our
schools. Popular pressure compelled the government to retreat last month. We
will therefore continue to work alongside parents, teachers and other
educational professionals, non-teaching staff, politicians, trade unions,
governing bodies and other organisations to oppose the plans as outlined in the
education for all bill thus far, and work towards persuading the government to
channel its energies towards properly addressing the more pressing issues
affecting state education: teacher shortage and retention; chaos and confusion
in the assessment system; and cuts to education funding.

Cllr Jun Bo Chan Brent, teacherDawn Butler MP Brent CentralMelissa Benn Author and journalistTulip Siddiq MP Hampstead and KilburnMary Glindon MP North TynesideIan Mearns MP GatesheadKevin Courtney Acting general secretary, NUTHank Roberts Secretary of Brent Association of Teachers and Lecturers
(ATL) and past national president of ATLLesley Gouldbourne Secretary of Brent NUTShyam Gorsia Secretary of Brent NASUWTAndrew Baisley Secretary of Camden NUTCllr Nick Forbes Newcastle City, Leader of Newcastle city council and
Leader of LGA Labour groupCllr Margaret McLennan Brent, Deputy leader at Brent councilCllr Mikey Pavey Brent, Lead member for stronger communities at Brent
council, and Director of Labour Friends of Sure StartCllr Matt Bradley Brent, teacherColin Adams Retired teacherCllr Shama Tatler Brent, teacherCllr Pat Harrison Brent, retired teacherJohn Bolt General secretary of the Socialist Educational AssociationProf Tim Brighouse Honorary Norham fellow at the Department of
Education, University of OxfordProf Stephen Ball Distinguished service professor of sociology of
education at the UCL Institute of EducationDr Martin Dewey Senior lecturer at the department of education and
professional studies, King’s College LondonProf Ben Rampton Professor of applied and sociolinguistics at the
department of education and professional studies, King’s College LondonDr Alan Fortune Retired senior lecturer at the department of education
and professional studies, King’s College LondonDr Nick Andon Lecturer at the department of education and professional
studies, King’s College LondonDr Melanie Cooke Teaching fellow at the department of education and
professional studies, King’s College London, and executive committee member of
King’s College London UCUDr Ursula Wingate Senior lecturer at the department of education and
professional studies, King’s College LondonDr Roxy Harris Visiting senior research fellow at the department of
education and professional studies, King’s College LondonProf Diane Reay Professor of education at the faculty of education,
University of CambridgeProf Keith Taber Professor of science education at the faculty of
education, University of CambridgeDr Michael Evans Reader in education at the at the faculty of education,
University of CambridgeDr Christine Doddington University senior lecturer at the faculty of
education, University of CambridgeDr George Anderson Retired lecturer at the school of physics and
astronomy, Queen Mary University of LondonDr Karen Forbes Teacher and researcherDr Henry Tam Director of Question the PowerfulDr Michael Calderbank Co-editor of Red Pepper and Co-convener of Brent
MomentumSam Sampson TeacherMike Phipps LecturerCaroline Hill Teacher and Chair of Young LabourAdam Klug Teacher and National organiser of MomentumEmma Rees Teacher and National organiser of MomentumFaduma Hassan Teacher and National committee member of MomentumBen Ackland TeacherKenichi Udagawa TeacherBob Sellers School technicianJeremy Silk Teacher and NUT representativeEddie Crust TeacherRobert Young TeacherAndrew Duncan TeacherDavid Lee TeacherDavid Dixon TeacherRobert Pepper TeacherSamia El-Ali TeacherVivien Sproule Retired teacherMartin Francis Retired headteacher and governorAnne Perez Retired teacherSarah Sharkey Retired teacherKarin Barrett Retired teacherDr Jayne Lim Geriatric registrar and executive committee member of
Chinese for LabourDr Tom Dolphin Consultant anaesthetistRia Bernard Speech and language therapist, and Vice-chair of the Young
FabiansDr Martin Edobor Junior doctor and Chair of the Young FabiansDr Harriet Nerva Junior doctorCllr Wilhelmina Mitchell Murray Lead member for children and young
peopleCllr Ruth Moher Brent, Former lead member for children and young people
at Brent councilMary Arnold Former lead member for children and families at Brent
council, and school governing board chairDavid Lister Chair of the Brent Labour local campaign forum and retired
teacherCllr Matt Kelcher BrentCllr Sam Stopp Brent, Chair of the Labour campaign to end homelessnessCllr Tom Miller Brent, Hendon GMB political officer and founding member
of Open LabourCllr James Denselow Brent, Former lead member for stronger communities
at Brent councilCllr Eleanor Southwood Brent, Lead member for environment at Brent
councilCllr Lesley Jones Brent Former mayor of Brent and retired teacherCllr Kana Naheerathan Brent, former mayor of BrentCllr Sandra Kabir BrentCllr Neil Nerva BrentCllr Roxanne Mashari Brent Lead member for regeneration, growth,
employment and skills at Brent councilCllr Krupesh Hirani Brent, Lead member for community wellbeing at Brent
councilCllr Harbi Farah Brent, Lead member for housing at Brent councilCllr Mary Daly BrentCllr Amer Agha BrentCllr Keith Perrin BrentCllr John Duffy BrentCllr Jean Hossain BrentCllr Ernest Ezeajughi BrentCllr Liz Dixon BrentCllr George Crane BrentCllr Janice Long BrentCllr Bernard Collier BrentCllr George Crane BrentCllr Arshad Mahmood BrentCllr Sarah Marquis BrentCllr Barbara Pitruzzella BrentCllr Aslam Choudry BrentCllr Lloyd Duddridge RedbridgeCllr Naomi Fearon Fleetwood, teacher

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